Chapter 223: Teacher Evaluation Arrives

"Senior Brother?"

The three master teachers' mouths twitched, and their bodies swayed simultaneously. This change was far too sudden. Just moments ago, they were considering taking him as an apprentice, and now he had transformed into their Senior Brother. Calling a youngster, not even twenty, their Senior Brother? The three master teachers felt dizzy; no matter how they thought about it, it just seemed incredibly strange.

However, the strangeness on their faces quickly vanished, replaced by expressions of excitement and exhilaration. "Does Teacher Yang mean... he's willing to accept us?" Liu Ling reacted, trembling with excitement. The wrinkles on his face, capable of crushing a mosquito, piled up, making him look like a chrysanthemum. Teacher Yang telling them to call Zhang Xuan "Senior Brother" implicitly meant he was taking them on as students, didn't it?

Zhuang Xian and Zheng Fei were even more direct, immediately prostrating themselves on the ground. Although the other party hadn't explicitly stated it, his attitude showed no objection. If they didn't act quickly, what if he changed his mind? They'd regret it forever. "Those two guys..." Seeing his old friends act so swiftly, Liu Ling quickly followed suit, bowing his head in submission.

Zhang Xuan didn't turn back, his expression unruffled. "As my disciples, I will naturally help you advance. However, I am accustomed to a carefree life and won't stay here for too long; I'll be leaving soon. Although Zhang Xuan has received my true teachings, he is still too young and his cultivation too shallow, so he may need some care from you all."

"Teacher, please rest assured. Since we have been accepted, we will naturally abide by the rules of the master's lineage. Zhang Xuan is our Senior Brother, and as long as it is within our ability, we will certainly do our utmost to assist him." Liu Ling and the others expressed their commitment. Master teachers accepting disciples followed certain rules. Direct disciples automatically held a higher rank; that is to say, even if a direct disciple was younger, they were considered a Senior Brother to other students. While it sounded strange, it was common in the Master Teacher Pavilion and nothing unusual. Since they had decided to become disciples of Teacher Yang, they would follow the rules. Zhang Xuan was their Senior Brother, and as his juniors, they would naturally not hesitate to help him in any way they could.

"Good, begin your boxing forms." Having confirmed their master-disciple relationship, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. "Yes!" Knowing that Teacher Yang intended to offer them guidance, they excitedly rose to their feet. Immediately, the sound of fists whistling filled the room as the three began to display their martial arts.

After an unknown period, the three clasped their fists in farewell. Although their cultivation remained at the Half-Grandmaster level, without a breakthrough, their faces were alight with uncontrollable excitement. In truth, Zhang Xuan could have directly helped them break through. However, doing so would expose his pure True Qi and his relatively low cultivation level. Failing to maintain his persona as a master was a minor issue, but trouble would certainly follow. After careful consideration, he merely pointed out the flaws in their cultivation. In his words, pointing out the flaws and letting them figure out how to break through on their own was also a test for them. As One-Star Master Teachers, if they couldn't break through after knowing these issues, it meant there was a problem with their talent, and he would have to reconsider accepting them as students. Upon hearing this, how could the three master teachers dare to say anything? They meticulously memorized the flaws he mentioned, afraid of getting anything wrong. Nevertheless, knowing these cultivation pitfalls, with their insight and understanding of cultivation, breaking through to the next realm was indeed only a matter of time.

"Master, Emperor Shen Zhui is waiting outside." After seeing off the three master teachers, Zhang Xuan was about to rest when Sun Qiang approached again. "He's here? Could it be..." Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. "Let him in!"

"Teacher Yang!" A short while later, Emperor Shen Zhui entered, clasping his fists and bowing. He looked at the middle-aged man opposite him with fervent admiration and respect. His ancestor, on the verge of death and moments from breathing his last, had been saved by this man and even successfully broke through. Such methods were likely beyond even a Two-Star Master Teacher. Perhaps... the man before him was a Three-Star Master Teacher, or even higher. Such a person was not someone a king of a minor kingdom, or even a first-tier kingdom, could simply meet at will.

"Reporting to Teacher Yang, I have almost finished collecting the Profound Connection Realm cultivation manuals you asked for..." Zhang Xuan's eyes brightened. The condition for treating Shen Hong was that Emperor Shen Zhui would collect books for him. Several days had passed, and with the royal family's influence, collecting thousands of books shouldn't be difficult. "Please examine them, Teacher Yang!" With a flip of his hand, thousands of books were neatly arranged before them, a dense, sizable pile. It seemed Emperor Shen Zhui knew Zhang Xuan would use them and had brought them all.

"Mhm!" Approaching the pile, Zhang Xuan casually picked up a few books, rapidly flipping through them, then put them down and continued with others. Emperor Shen Zhui had initially been curious why such a formidable master teacher would need Profound Connection Realm manuals. Witnessing this scene made him even more perplexed. If Zhang Xuan had opened them to read, it would be understandable as studying. But merely flipping them without opening them, just fanning them with his hand... what was he doing? Though he felt curious, he dared not speak, dutifully standing still.

*Rustle, rustle!* Zhang Xuan didn't stop. In a short while, he had finished flipping through all several thousand manuals. Although these manuals were quite ordinary among Profound Connection Realm cultivation techniques and not particularly profound, their sheer quantity was their advantage. For him, who possessed the Library of Heaven's Path, they were perfect. "Correct!" With a thought, a book appeared in his mind: The Heaven's Path Cultivation Technique for the Profound Connection Realm!

"All right, you can take them away!" He waved his hand dismissively. The Library of Heaven's Path had already recorded all these books; keeping them would be useless.

"This..." Emperor Shen Zhui was stunned. He had spent considerable effort collecting these manuals, expecting Teacher Yang to at least open and read them. Instead, he had just casually fanned through them and was done... "Are these manuals too crude, perhaps not worth reading? If so, I can go find more..." He hesitated, then couldn't help but ask. "No need. I've finished reading these books; you can take them back," Zhang Xuan waved his hand. "F-finished reading them?" Emperor Shen Zhui almost stumbled. You... you... what did you read? You just casually fanned through these books a few times and you're done... Do your eyes grow on your hands?

"Yes!" Though frustrated enough to spit blood, he dared not ask further. He gathered all the books from the floor into his storage ring, then clasped his fists. "Then, I shall take my leave..." "Mhm!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Leaving the residence, Emperor Shen Zhui did not stop, heading straight back to the palace. "Did you give all the books to Teacher Yang?" Ancestor Shen Hong approached him. "I did, but... he didn't keep them. He... gave them back!" Emperor Shen Zhui still had a peculiar expression. "Gave them back? Was Teacher Yang not satisfied?" "No..." "Then did he finish reading them?" "He didn't read them either..." "He didn't read them? Then why did he ask for these books?" Shen Hong was utterly confused. "He just... just... fanned through them..." "Fanned through them?" Shen Hong blinked. If you said you wanted a few beauties and just fanned through them, that might be understandable, but fanning through books? "The actions of a true master... indeed, we don't understand..." After a long while, their faces red from suppressed bewilderment, the two men finally reached a conclusion.

After Emperor Shen Zhui left, Zhang Xuan told Sun Qiang not to admit anyone else, then turned and walked back into his room. "Time to cultivate!" He opened the newly formed seventh level of the Heaven's Path Cultivation Technique and read it. "Acupoints opened, meridians throughout the body connected, all pathways clear, True Qi flowing unhindered—this is Profound Connection..." Line after line of text imprinted themselves upon his mind.

Having collected thousands of manuals, the Heaven's Path Divine Art that had now formed was, as before, flawless. Zhang Xuan cultivated as he read. Pure True Qi circulated within his body, constantly operating according to the special cultivation method recorded in the technique. *Boom!* After just one cycle, the previous bottleneck of the Aperture Acupoint Realm instantly shattered. Vast spiritual energy from heaven and earth poured into his body, centering on him, while his internal True Qi and strength surged wildly. Profound Connection Realm, Initial Stage! Profound Connection Realm, Middle Stage! In a short time, his strength reached its saturation point again, and his power reached the peak of the Profound Connection Realm!

"As cultivation increases, the speed of progress does indeed slow down..." Feeling his power reach its peak, unable to advance further, Zhang Xuan stopped. The Aperture Acupoint Realm involved deducing individual acupoints, making it hard to quantify the time spent. During the Dingli Realm, he had cultivated the complete Heaven's Path cultivation technique, which took about an hour. And now... "It took a full ten minutes more! It seems the further I go in cultivation, the harder it gets!" Zhang Xuan remarked with a thoroughly serious expression.

If anyone knew his thoughts, they'd probably want to strangle him. An extra ten minutes, and he called that "getting harder"? For others, cultivating from the initial stage to the peak of the Profound Connection Realm, even for top geniuses with countless treasures, would be impossible without ten years of arduous effort. Yet, he, after an extra ten minutes within an hour, felt his cultivation speed was slow... Unbelievable.

"Let's see how much power I have now..." After his lament, Zhang Xuan got up and went to the strength-testing stone pillar, striking it with a punch. A line of numbers slowly appeared. "600 dings!" Zhang Xuan's face lit up with joy.

At the peak of the Aperture Acupoint Realm, he had opened 108 acupoints, increasing his strength by 108 dings. Combined with the previous 20 dings, his total True Qi strength was 128 dings. Now, with the breakthrough, his strength had surprisingly increased severalfold directly. Normally, the Initial Stage of the Profound Connection Realm was 100 dings, Middle Stage 200 dings, Late Stage 300 dings, and Peak 400 dings. 600 dings was already comparable to a Half-Grandmaster. Grandmaster realm experts possessed immense power, capable of wielding a thousand dings of immense force with every movement. Any strength between 400 dings and 1000 dings could be termed Half-Grandmaster. With 600 dings, plus his physical body's 90 dings, he possessed a massive strength of nearly 700 dings, placing him very high even among Half-Grandmasters.

"I guess I have some self-preservation capability now!" With such profound and powerful strength, combined with his ability to discern flaws, Zhang Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since he discovered the poisonous gas within him, the shadow of someone wanting to kill him had lingered in his mind. Without strength, he would be unable to resist if the other party tried to act. Now that his power was comparable to a Half-Grandmaster, his mind finally felt a little more at ease.

He consolidated his cultivation for a while longer, fully adapting to his newly acquired strength, before finally stepping out of the room. Unbeknownst to him, an entire night had passed. Outside, the sun slowly rose from the eastern sky, its rays scattering and casting a peaceful glow all around. "It's already morning..." Looking at the rising sun, Zhang Xuan knew that the Freshman Tournament and the Teacher Qualification Exam, which he had been waiting for for half a month... Had finally arrived!